Tag Archives: frontpage

WFHB Correspondent David Murphy attended Bloomingfood’s annual meeting last week and an accompanying rally by those who support a recent effort by workers to form a union. Today we hear comments from the rally for our Daily Local News community report.

Host Doug Storm welcomes guests Alyce Miller, Dave Rollo, Sandra Shapshay, and Lisa Sideris for Part II of our discussion about the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve deer cull scheduled to begin in November and last through the end of February.

There is great contention between groups opposed to the violent intervention of a kill and those who feel the kill is necessary to protect biodiversity at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve.

We try in the second half of the show to understand the “gift” in Genesis 1:28.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.(KJV)

The implicit question in both of our programs comes from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring:

Who has decided—who has the right to decide—for the countless legions of people who were not consulted that the supreme value is a world without insects, even though it be also a sterile world ungraced by the curving wing of a bird in flight? The decision is that of the authoritarian temporarily entrusted with power; he has made it during a moment of inattention by millions to whom beauty and the ordered world of nature still have meaning that is deep and imperative.

For Questions or Comments please email us: interchange@wfhb.org.

Of related interest:

Two groups of note are mentioned in the program: The Humane Society of the United States and The Nature Conservancy. Here are the “SourceWatch” pages for both.

On Friday, October 17 Indiana University will inaugurate its newest school on the Bloomington campus, the Media School, with the dedication of a new sculpture of IU alumnus and Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Ernie Pyle.

The sculptor is Harold Langland, professor emeritus, who taught at IU South Bend from 1971-2001.

According to IU officials, Langland will present the sculpture to IU President Michael McRobbie at a public ceremony beginning at 2 p.m. in Franklin Hall, the future home of the Media School.

Previously Langland created a sculpture of IU’s legendary President and Chancellor Herman B. Wells. That sculpture, seated on a bench near the student union, has become a popular spot for photographers as well as students and visitors.

The Media School is now envisioned as IU’s pre-eminent site for teaching, research and service about the understanding and production of media by combining over 70 faculty members specializing in journalism, cinema, communications and culture, and electronic telecommunication programs.

“The fluid technology environment of the 21st century offers our students and faculty and opportunity to boldly imagine the shape of media in the coming decades,” Larry D. Songell, executive Dean of Arts and Sciences says.

Meanwhile, this new academic unit within the College of Arts and Sciences is now in search of its first dean at the same time that renovation of Franklin Hall itself will soon begin.

From the acknowledgments page of City of Bloomington’s Deer Task Force Report:

While the State has exclusive jurisdiction over deer management [IDNR representatives] have worked hard to listen to the concerns of the Task Force and the community to help us develop recommendations that suit the unique needs of Bloomington and Monroe County. And while they never complained about our interminable meetings or endless questions, no doubt Aldo Leopold’s observation that “The real problem of wildlife management is not how we should handle the animals…the real problem is one of human management” rings true…

The decision to define deer populations as stable, healthy, abundant, overabundant, or call them rats with hooves, or nuisance animals, or even the opposite of this such as the quasi-mystical forest denizen deserving of reverence, is to impose a human worldview upon them. And it is the act of managing this worldview that is as important as the decision to contract the sharpshooters of the company White Buffalo to kill the animal in question.

Because there is so much to talk about on the subject of the lethal cull of deer by sharpshooters in Griffy Lake Nature Preserve as well as the change to the city’s municipal code to allow firearms to be discharged with the city limits we’re going to continue this program next week on our 10/14 program. We’ll be joined again by Dave Rollo, Alyce Miller and Sandra Shapshay.

So Part II of To Cull is Kill: The Griffy Lake Nature Preserve Deer Kill next week on Interchange.

Listen In and Listen Up: A Message from Brown County Hour producer Pam Raider

The fall fund drive for our local community radio station WFHB (FM91.3 and 100.7) begins on October 3rd and runs through October 12th. By definition, this station is listener supported and volunteer powered – nothing would happen without our participation and support. And I for one am grateful for their varied and entertaining programming from the eclectic variety of music, including live Lotus entertainment, to award winning daily local news. I have learned so much from their many talk shows, interviews and taped lectures.

WFHB is a connection to the wider world not only through what we hear but because we get to share our stories on The Brown County Hour twice each month (we are into our fifth year of production). On the first Sunday of the drive, October 5th episode 31 of The Brown County Hour will air at 9 am with two of the team members, Dave Seastrom and Pam Raider, hosting live on the air. By the way you can also catch this or any of our past episodes on line at browncountyhour.com or streamed from wfhb website. I hope you will tune in and let the station know you support the show by pledging some amount which you can do by calling 812-323-1200 or on line at wfhb.org. Let’s keep this signal strong – it takes everyone’s help to pay the expenses.

It is important to continue to support unique local endeavors that keep community strong. WFHB is a training ground for citizen journalists who learn how to report on critical issues in their own backyard, this is community empowerment, something we could use more of.

During this fund drive week in October, you will have another opportunity to show your support by coming out to Muddy Boots on Friday October 10th where we will be broadcasting live from 1 – 3 pm, and Kade Puckett will be performing at 1:20 p.m. and the Indiana Boys will be performing at 2:20 p.m. You just might get on the air yourself as one of the proud supporters of WFHB. Where else do you have a chance to actually participate in a radio station?

Since our pledges are votes for programs we like, we actually help determine on air content. So step up and keep this signal strong by supporting us during this fund drive. I think you’ll be glad you did.

On Tuesday, September 16, in the Bloomington City Council Chambers five candidates discussed their qualifications for public office in Monroe County. The session consisted of expert commentary and Audience Q&A. Candidates for Assessor include Judy Sharp and William Ellis. Candidates for commissioner include Patrick Stoffers Robert LaGarde and David Nakarado. This event was recorded by Community Access Television Services and used with permission by Standing Room Only, on WFHB.

The discussion centers on the assertion that the Forestry Division treats the forest as a kind of agricultural crop and chooses to implement methods that value the tree by its harvest value (silviculture). We also discuss the ways that clear cutting or “regenerative openings” disturb habitat and disrupt ecosystem health. One feature of this is the vital symbiotic role that healthy fungi play in the growth of forests. A final topic is the IFA’s campaign to create State Wild Areas in our state forests.

Where John Seifert makes claims for the benefit of introducing sunlight to enhance diversity (through “regenerative openings”)–”sunlight drives the system”–Luurtsema claims “sunlight drives the crop tree while mortality drives the ecosystem.”

On Saturday, September 27 an animal rights activist group named Direct Action Everywhere staged a protest at Bloomington’s Chipotle Grill on Kirkwood street.

Jeff Melton, the local organizer for Direct Action Everywhere, says he and another protester went to Chipotle to protest their business practices and claims.

Melton says that the group takes issue with all fast food chains for their source of factory farmed meat products, but that businesses like Chipotle and Whole Foods that brand themselves misleadingly are a high concern. The protest matches others nationwide as part of a larger month-long effort by Direct Action Everywhere against species-ism.

Species-ism is defined as the exploitation of nonhuman animals for their meat, skins, their labor, or in scientific experiments. Melton says that they did not receive the hostility that protesters elsewhere have received, and that some people approached the protesters after the demonstration to gain more information.

Chipotle advertises its offerings as “food with integrity” and offers information on their website about the benefits to “naturally” raised farm animals. They also state that “Though the process is more complex, we are trying to find suppliers who can provide us with pasture-raised poultry and pork. Eventually, we want all of our meat to come from suppliers who meet these standards. We’re definitely working on it. Stay tuned.”

Direct Action Everywhere estimates that more than 100,000 animals are killed to be eaten each minute world wide, and points out that undercover investigations have shown factory farms to terminate animals in cruel ways while they are still conscious.

Melton says that he chooses to demonstrate support for animals because they can not advocate for themselves.

October 11, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Monroe County History Center
FREE

Saturday’s Child, WFHB’s longest-running live music broadcast, is 20 years old this year and we’re having a party. Join us for a super-special two-hour broadcast Saturday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Monroe County History Center when Saturday’s Child and the WFHB Fall Fund Drive join forces to bring you some of Bloomington’s premier musicians: Carrie Newcomer, Grey Larsen & Cindy Kallet, Jason & Ginger, and Tom Roznowski to celebrate our birthday and the fall fund drive.

As always, the bagels, coffee, juice and music are on us, and the show will be broadcast live on your community radio station, WFHB.

Andrea Jobe, an original member of the volunteer team behind the Middle Way House Rooftop Garden and the Volunteer Coordinator for the project, talks about the importance of the project to shelter residents, their children and those who volunteer – what they learn, how their lives are made better and how gardening is bringing them to a brighter future. Also, more local volunteer opportunities geared toward helping those living with food insecurity from the Bloomington Volunteer Network in honor of September as Hunger Awareness Month.